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Gov. Edwards to oversee flood protection measures in lower St. Martin

Posted at 12:37 PM, May 25, 2019
and last updated 2019-05-27 12:01:55-04

Gov. John Bell Edwards will be in Stephensville this afternoon to oversee flood protection measures in St. Martin Parish. The Department of Transportation and Development began deploying sand sacks along the flooded portion of LA 70 Friday.

100-foot long sand sacks are located along LA 70 between mileposts 7.6 and 8.1, which is approximately two miles north of the LA 70/Stephensville Road intersection. Officials add that the sand sacks are better equipped for the conditions at this location than water-retention dams.

St. Martin Parish President Chestar Cedars says about 20% of their public works department has been devoted to implementing flood control measures for the past few months. A voluntary evacuation was issued for Stephensville and lower St. Martin Parish on May 20.

In February Gov. Edwards issued a state of emergency because of the ongoing threat of river flooding across the state.  Today, the Gov. tweeted, “Rivers and waterways across the state have remained elevated for the past several months. River forecasters say this fight will now extend well into the summer and will likely result in the need to open the Morganza Spillway, operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.”

They estimate they’ll have to open it on June 2nd.

Click Here to read a breakdown of the possible Morganza Spillway opening.